POLITICAL
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Monopolies Report on Fuel Soon
THE Monopolies Commission hopes to I present its report on the petroleum industry in the early part of next year. said Mr. George Darling, Minister of State at the Board of Trade last week.
He added that any information about petrol companies seeking to tie filling stations more firmly to a monopolistic dealing in their products alone—one M.P. claimed this was happening— should be given to the Commission without any delay.
Mr. Darling said he' did not know of any general movement of this kind by the petrol comnanies—at which the M.P., Dr. Reginald Bennett (Cons., Gosport and Fareharn) said that at least two of the big petrol distributors were tightening their grip on the stations for their own limited range of products. Dr. Bennett asked if this did not rather amount to a contempt of the Commission, and was told that a reference to the body did not operate as any sort of stop order. The firms concerned were free to maintain or to change any trading practices they might have, said Mr. Darling, but of course the Commission had to take note of any changes in trading practices which occurred during the course of its inquiries. He understood it had done this.
Rural Results MR. FRASER said in the Commons last week that within two or three months he hopes to receive the result of the experiments he is carrying out to find remedies for the problems of rural transport.